ZAGREB (Reuters) - Croatia's navy seized an Italian trawler
in Croatian territorial waters on Thursday, in the first such
incident since Zagreb enforced a protected fishing zone in the
Adriatic despite opposition from the European Union.

"According to my information, a Croatian military ship
caught an Italian trawler illegally present in (Croatia's)
territorial waters. The trawler has been taken to a port on the
(southern Adriatic) island of Vis for an investigation," a
Transport and Maritime Ministry official told Reuters.

Croatia said it created the zone -- extending jurisdiction
beyond its territorial waters to the midpoint division line in
the Adriatic -- to preserve fish stocks and limit pollution.

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But the move, based on established international practice,
stoked tension with its Adriatic EU neighbors, Italy and
Slovenia, which put pressure on Zagreb not to implement the
zone before reaching a common agreement.

The official said the trawler was found in territorial
waters proper. However, the move could raise tensions between
Zagreb and the European Union, which it hopes to join in around
2010.

The European Commission told Croatia its EU accession talks
could suffer if Zagreb unilaterally implemented the zone.

Croatia has indicated it might soften the zone's
implementation but no steps are expected before Prime Minister
Ivo Sanader forms a new coalition government, due in
mid-January.

Police spokeswoman Zeljka Radosevic told state radio the
trawler had been caught fishing illegally near a remote
Croatian island. "Crew members and the commander will be taken
before a judge," Radosevic said.

Croatia's Defense Ministry, which is in charge of the naval
forces, declined to comment.

Slovenia is opposed to the zone, brought in on January 1,
because of an unresolved sea border issue. Analysts say the
zone clashed with the interests of Italy's fishermen who can
now fish freely without any supervision.

Croatia's fishermen say that Italy's better equipped
fishing fleet could deplete fish stocks on the Croatian side of
the Adriatic after doing so on its side. They say Italian
trawlers often fish illegally in Croatia's territorial waters.